Salvation
by OrAnGe Is A cOlOr
Summary: What happens when Hermione finds herself becoming obsessed with none other than Draco Malfoy. . "Are you threatening me, Malfoy?" He chuckled darkly and tightened his hold on her chin. "I don't threaten, Granger. I do, however, make promises. And I'm nothing if not a man of my word."
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything having to do with this beautiful world.

Hermione watched him as inconspicuously as she could, sneaking glances from behind the curtain her hair provided. To anyone who happened to glance at her, it would look as though she was simply reading a book with her head tilted down and her hair covering her face. She watched as he read his book two tables away from her. He had come in with three others, however as the clock ticked away and the hour grew late, the others had dispersed, leaving only him.

He was facing towards her with his head bent slightly, his eyes quickly darting back and forth as he read his book with a pace that could rival her own. His fine blonde hair was hanging over his forehead and into his eyes. More than once he had impatiently tossed his head when his hair got into his way. His body seemed relaxed as he read his book, completely unaware of his audience.

She had been watching him for the last two hours. Although if she was being honest with herself, she had been watching him longer than that. In fact she had been watching him all year long. At first, it was innocent. She was simply keeping a keen eye on him. She did not believe Harry's theory that Draco Malfoy could be a death eater, but decided that it was better to be safe than sorry. Then, she began to notice little things about him that fascinated her such as when he was with his friends but he had a look in his eye that said he was somewhere else- somewhere unreachable to anyone else. Or the concentration on his face when he was in potions and he was working on a tough assignment.

Eventually, she became obsessed with watching him. She tried to tell herself it was to simply keep an eye on him. She noticed that he went to the Room of Requirement often but had never quite plucked up the courage to approach him when he came out. He spent a lot of time in there, and she was burning to know what he wanted out of the room. She burned to know everything about him. She found herself keeping secrets from her friends. She was ashamed of her fascination, but not enough to stop. So she lied and told them that she was doing extra research, while all the time watching Draco.

Eventually Madame Pince announced that the library was closing. She watched, mesmerized, as Draco glanced at the clock to see it was indeed late. He stood and stretched, his shirt riding up oh so slightly showing a small amount of toned skin. His arm muscles flexed. Now she was blatantly staring and, Merlin help her, it did not go unnoticed. He looked up and she quickly found her eyes locked in his blue-gray gaze. His gaze turned cold. Suddenly he was stalking towards her and she felt her heart skip a beat. He stopped in front of the chair opposite her and sneered.

"Anything I can help you with, Mudblood?" She tried to feel offense, but she was just trying to calm her heart. Instead she just shook her head.

"Not really, Malfoy," she said softly as she stood to put her book away. He smirked and he was suddenly in front of her. She gasped lightly at his closeness and took a step back. As though they were in a coordinated dance, he stepped forward, pushing her back until she felt her butt hit the table behind her. Her heart was beating erratically and she blushed because it wasn't from fear.

He leaned close to her, his nose almost brushing hers. She felt his breath wash over his face and swallowed. His breath smelled like mint toothpaste and she could also smell his expensive cologne wafting around her. "I know, Granger. I know you've been watching me." She gasped and attempted to shake her head in denial but his hand shot out to grab her chin, not allowing her the chance to. "Don't deny it, Granger. Next time you try to spy on someone, you should at least turn the pages in the book you're pretending to read. You've been staring at the same page for the last two hours."

She narrowed her eyes, suddenly finding her nerve in her embarrassment. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Malfoy, but I do know you have three seconds to get your hand off of me before you come back with a nub." He smirked down at her before letting pure hatred seep into his eyes.

"If you know what's good for you, Mudblood, you'll keep your nose out of other people's business. Otherwise… well, let's say accidents happen everyday."

She nearly spit on him as she found her wand in her pocket and tried to aim at him. Unfortunately he had lightning fast reflexes and had her wand before she could even utter a spell. "Are you threatening me, Malfoy?" He chuckled darkly and tightened his hold on her chin.

"I don't threaten, Granger. I do, however, make promises. And I'm nothing if not a man of my word. Mind your own damn business, Granger," he spat again before pushing her face away from him as if she had burned his hand. He quickly put his book away and was on his way out the door when she called out to him.

"If I were you, Malfoy, I'd be careful. People may begin to suspect that you're up to something." She felt triumphant when his spine became rigid but he left without speaking or even turning around to acknowledge her comment.

Hermione rubbed her chin where he had touched her and could still feel the warmth of his fingers on her skin. Sighing, she put her book away and swept from the room, making her way to her dorm.

The common rooms were basically empty with only a few students lingering and among them were Ron and Harry. She smiled and went over to them, perching herself on the seat next to Ron.

"Hey, Hermione. Were you studying this whole time?" Harry asked her.

She bit the inside of her cheek and sighed. "Yes. And I, for one, am tired," she lied smoothly. Draco had touched her. She had never been more awake. But she excused herself for the night and went up to bed after saying good night to her friends. She went up her dorm and changed into her pajamas then crawled into bed. She laid awake for another hour, simply listening to the sound of the other girls sleeping and thinking about Draco. Eventually she turned over and fell into a dream of eyes the color of a stormy sky.

Draco could feel Death breathing down his neck. He was working as diligently as possible but he could still smell the stench of his own corpse rotting away. The cabinet was nowhere near finished and he was beginning to lose hope. He was quickly running out of ideas and had tried his best to procrastinate on the second part of his mission.

He slammed his fist into the cabinet and let a cry escape his lips. He couldn't do this. He was a bully. He could admit that to himself. But he was not a murderer. But if he completed either of these assignments he would be responsible for deaths. He could feel a black hole sucking him in and he was drowning in the emptiness. He knew better than to believe there was an escape. He steeled himself. It was kill or be killed. But he still had no idea how to fix this damned cabinet. He was smart, hell, sometimes he was brilliant. But he was no…. His eyes widened. He was no Hermione Granger.

It was there, standing on his last leg, desperate for a solution that the Slytherin began to do what Slytherins do best. He had to scheme a way to make the Gryffindor Princess help him bring death onto the school.

Author's Note: I know that this is a bit dark but I've noticed that there are many stories where Draco is obsessed with Hermione. I just wanted to turn the table and see what our favorite Gryffindor Princess would do if the situation was reversed. Reviews are appreciated. Let me know what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own none of the Harry Potter characters.

Blood flooded the halls of her home and everywhere she looked someone she loved lay slain. She tried to run through the halls throwing spells at the dark shadows that plagued her school but it was all to no avail. Her friends were still falling to the floor dead. She continued to run until she came to the Great Hall. She looked around desperately and went in. Suddenly all the noise stopped and it was silent. The room looked like it hadn't been touched by the tragedy slicing the school right outside its doors. There was but one person in here and as he heard someone come in he turned and stared at her. She felt the breath leave her body as he assessed her and smirked.

"You… you did this! Didn't you?" she screams, feeling hot tears welling in her eyes. He said nothing but shrugged. "Why would you do this?"

Again he did not answer. He simply stared at her with an unfamiliar gleam in his eye. He began strutting over to her, slowly putting one foot in front of the other, and never breaking eye contact with her. She was trembling slightly but held her ground as she listened helplessly to the slaughter outside the doors behind her. He stopped three inches away from her and cocked his head while lifting a hand up as though to touch her face. Suddenly Hermione felt a stinging pain stabbing her cheek and she was falling down. Her eyes widened and she glared hard up him, barely containing hurt tears as she nursed her cheek. The bastard had hit her! He squatted and brought his eyes level with hers.

"Oh, Hermione," he breathed. "I believe the question is why did _you_ do this?" Her eyes widened as she heard a blood curdling scream on the other side of the door before the loud thud of a body hitting the floor. He smirked at her and stood. He raised his wand and whispered the two little words that would end her. She felt helpless as the green light struck her and then everything went dark.

Hermione woke up in a cold sweat. Her heart was pounding and she was panting. She couldn't remember exactly what she had dreamed, but she was terrified for some reason. Something to do with Draco… And her friends were…. She shuddered. She glanced to see what time it was. 6:30 am. She fell back onto her pillow and stared at the ceiling for a moment. The ceiling was charmed with the same spell as the Great Hall and she watched the stars twinkling for a moment, allowing herself time to calm down. She had two hours before breakfast.

As she watched the stars above she felt her body calming down. Her thoughts turned once again to Draco, which was no surprise because he was in her almost every thought. She wondered what he was doing right now. He was probably asleep. She imagined him lying in his bed, covered with black silk sheets and a luscious green comforter. His fine blonde would be hanging into his face, caressing his flawless pale skin. His beautiful lips would be slightly parted as he took long deep breaths, making his sculpted chest rise and fall.

She could just imagine gently pushing the hair away from his face to reveal his fine features before she shuddered and cut herself off from such thoughts. She knew she was getting herself in too deep and she had to stop. She got up to take a nice warm shower.

She lingered for a few moments under the spray, allowing the hot water to cascade down her body. She knew that her thoughts were getting out of hand but she couldn't stop thinking about him. If Harry and Ron ever found out, especially with Harry's theory about Draco, things would never be the same. They would abandon her. She loved her friends dearly and she would not allow that to happen.

Sighing, she started washing her hair and whispered a spell under her breath to remove unwanted hair. She then lathered some soap in her hand and began to wash her body, while allowing her conditioner to work its own magic. When she finally felt clean, she stepped out of the shower and wrapped a plush towel around her body while she trudged over to the mirror.

As the steam cleared she stared at her reflection. Even if her friends wouldn't care, she decided Draco still would never give her a second glance. She had always thought of herself as decent looking, but she knew Draco preferred tall, slender, and fine features. She was petite, only 5'5". She also had more curves than he seemed to like. Her features were soft and rounded. No, she wasn't exactly a beauty. So then, there was no point in feeling guilty for thinking the things that she had been thinking lately, because even if Harry and Ron would approve, and even if Draco wasn't prejudice, he would still never really look twice at her.

She sighed and got dressed for the day. By the time that she had finished getting ready, it was time to go downstairs and meet her friends so that they could go get breakfast. She plastered a smile on her face as she came down the stairs to see Ron and Harry waiting on her. She looked at her best friends and again felt guilt stabbing her heart. No matter how hard she tried to convince herself that she had done nothing wrong, it still hurt to know that she was lying to them.

"Hey, Hermione. We're starving. Are you ready?" Hermione looked at Harry as he spoke and felt the urge to hug him. But she wouldn't let on that anything was wrong. Instead she rolled her eyes and said in a light voice "Of course."

As they walked to the Great Hall, Hermione had an anxious feeling. Harry and Ron were talking animatedly about the Quidditch try-outs that were coming up. Ron was going to try out as the Gryffindor keeper and he was apparently nervous, although he tried to hide it. Hermione bit her lip, hiding a snicker. Ron tried so hard to put on a brave face.

When they arrived at the Great Hall, Hermione was extremely nervous. The doors to the Great Hall seemed to permeate a foreboding aura. She shivered and Harry looked at her. "What's wrong?" he asked her.

She just looked at him and shrugged, not quite sure what was wrong with her. "I'm just a little cold." Harry looked her a long moment, before shrugging as well. Ron pushed the doors open and they made a beeline for the Gryffindor table, quickly finding a spot.

"I don't know, Harry. Maybe we could practice, you know, just to make sure that I haven't gotten rusty," Ron was saying as he piled the food onto his plate. Harry, on the other hand, was not paying attention. He was watching as Ginny came in with Dean, a strange look in his eye. Hermione noted it as Ginny took the seat next to her, pulling Dean down with her.

"Morning, everybody," she said as she starting putting some eggs and bacon on her plate.

Ron was staring at his sister suspiciously. "And why are you getting here late, Ginerva?" His eyes flicked to Dean, who just smirked and rolled his eyes. Ginny's face showed indignant disgust as she replied.

"Late? I was two minutes late to breakfast, Ronald"

"Yes and I'd like to know what you were doing in those two minutes," he hissed back. Hermione definitely noticed that Harry looked extremely uncomfortable at what Ron was implying as he interrogated his sister, his eyes flicking back and forth between her and Dean. Dean for his part looked very uncomfortable with this kind of questioning.

Ginny was definitely getting annoyed and her ears were starting to flame up, a definite Weasley trademark of anger. "Nothing that concerns you." Harry's eyes widened just a moment before he composed himself. Hermione decided it was time to intervene.

"So, Ginny, are you trying out for the Quidditch team this year?" Ginny perked up just a bit and nodded as she began eating.

"Oh, yeah. I am so ready to kick some Slytherin arse this year. Harry, when are you holding the try-outs?"

"Next Saturday. That will give me and Ron plenty of time to practice." Harry turned a smirk on his best friend. "Just to make sure you didn't get rusty."

Ron gaped at his friend and immediately started to defend his own honor, inviting everyone to quickly start in and make fun of him. Hermione laughed as her subject change took on a life of its own. Her mind began to wonder as her friends laughed and joked with each other. Apparently her eyes had begun to wonder as well because she found herself starring into stormy gray eyes.

Her heart skipped a beat as he continued to stare at her, unconcerned that he had been caught staring. Those gray eyes bore into her own and seemed like they were also boring into her soul. She saw his lips pull up into a small smirk and he nodded his head to her fractionally, letting her know that he knew she was watching him – again.

Just then Harry's voice fluttered in her ear as he announced that it was time to go to class. She did not want to be the one to break the eye contact but it was time to go. She shook her head and gathered her books before following her friends out. When they reached the door, she took a hesitant glance over her shoulder and saw that his eyes had not left her form. She shook her head again, this time in confusion and left the hall, slowly making her way to Charms class.

Draco knew that she would eventually look at him. He did not understand her recent obsession with staring at him but decided it would fit his plans to put it into good use. So when he saw hers, he had watched her resolutely, waiting for the moment she would look at him. And he did not have to wait long.

She had stared at him with those deep brown eyes, a cloud of emotion rolling in those eyes of hers. He kept her gaze and allowed himself a small smirk at the victory of seeing vulnerability riding on one of those clouds. She really was making this easy. He gave a small nod of the head to let her know that he had seen her. Her eyes widened minutely, but right then Potter had said something.

He watched as she reluctantly broke the eye contact and packed up her books. He continued to watch as she followed her friends out and decided that if she looked back at him, he had her. He was not disappointed. Just as she reached the door, she had glanced over her shoulder and her eyes found his once more. He was cheering inside. He knew he had her now. He could carry out his plan and it would be easy. She shook her head and left. Draco smiled briefly before turning back to his friends and continuing his meal, savoring the food.

A/N: Sorry that it took so long for the update. Life has gotten in the way in the form of school and work. I hope you liked it though. Also I am looking for a Beta, so if anyone is interested in helping me out with this story, I would love for you to send me a PM. Please leave reviews and let me know how I'm doing! Thanks everyone!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters or places.

Hermione followed her friends to Charms class in a daze. He had been looking, staring at her. He had looked right into her eyes and had refused to look away when he had so obviously been caught. But then, he'd already caught on that she was looking at him. Was that why he had been looking? Waiting to see if she had heeded his threat? Obviously she hadn't. She doubted she never would. She _needed_ to watch him. Almost the same way she needed to breathe. She knew it was ridiculous, but she also knew it was true. She would never admit aloud, though. She barely allowed herself to admit the betrayal to herself.

As she settled into her usual spot next to Harry and Ron, she was still deep in thought. Professor Flit began his lesson promptly and Hermione tried to shake any thoughts of the Slytherin away from her mind long enough to take some notes. She quickly realized that she already knew the material that the professor was teaching and felt knowledgeable enough about the spell that she let her mind to continue its stroll down Confusion Avenue. Did he know how obsessed she was? Did he know she thought about him incessantly? Is that why he was staring? She let out a sigh of frustration. Harry, who was sitting right next to her, looked over in mild concern. She just shook her head with a small smile, assuring him that she was alright.

Hermione Granger hated having questions but no answers. She supposed she could simply ask him outright, but the embarrassment from yesterday was still chafing her. She would never ever admit to him just how far she had fallen. By the end of the class, she still had the same burning question on her mind. Why had Draco Malfoy looked at her, and more than that, why had he smiled?

"Well, Hermione?" Ron asked her, pulling her from her thoughts.

She blinked him for a second. "Well, what, Ron?"

He snickered at her. "Already thinking hard about the paper? I asked if you were going to take a break from studying tonight to come to the welcome back party we're having in the common rooms."

She groaned. "I don't know, Ron. I'm not really in a party mood. Besides, we have that paper due and a couple more assignments that I need to get done and probably a lot more by the end of the day."

Harry smiled brilliantly at her. "Come on, Hermione. Take a break. Have some fun. It wouldn't be the same without you."

She rolled her eyes and smiled at them. "Of course it wouldn't. I _am_ the life of the party." She let the sarcasm ooze on that last sentence.

Ron laughed. "Exactly. Come on. You know you want to."

Hermione took a look at her friends, her boys, and smiled warmly at them. Rolling her eyes, she finally said, "Alright, I'll come." Harry threw an arm around her shoulder at hugged her briefly to him. She let herself enjoy the warmth at his embrace for a moment. How could she love them so much and blatantly betray them and lie to them?

"You're gonna have fun, Hermione," Harry promised.

She shrugged a shoulder. "I guess. But for now, we have potions, so come on."

They picked up their pace and quickly found their way to the potions class room. Harry and Ron sat at their usual table and Hermione sat at the table behind them, taking out her potions book, paper, quill, and ink. She was ready. She placed the rest of her belongings next to her on the table. No one else sat with her and she enjoyed having the space to lay everything out in front of her. Professor Slughorn began his lesson on the blood-replenishing potion, capable of replenishing blood to someone who has been mortally wounded.

"Definitely handy to have around in case of any accidents," Slughorn said cheerfully. Although he didn't really say it, he meant that it would be handy to have in around in times like these, with threats looming around every corner. Hermione let out an involuntary shudder.

"Now, turn to page 56 in your textbooks. You will be partnering up for this potion and the team that creates the best potion will receive an invitation to my next gathering." Hermione rolled her eyes. Slughorn really believed that that was a prize. She turned her textbook to the correct page and looked around. Everyone already had partners. But in her glance around the room she also noticed a certain person's absence. Where was Draco?

"Now begin gathering your ingredients and get to work."

Hermione sighed and went to fetch her supplies. She had already begun to mix the first few ingredients when she heard Professor Slughorn's voice again. "Ah, Mister Malfoy. So glad you can join us." Hermione froze in place for a moment and waited for his response.

"I apologize, Professor, but I was with Professor Snape. He sent me with a note explaining my tardiness." She watched out the corner of her eye as Draco passed her and handed his note to Slughorn. Slughorn barely glanced at it, before smiling at Draco.

"Very well, Mister Malfoy. You haven't missed much. We are working on a blood-replenishing potion. However, we are doing this in pairs, and I'm afraid everyone has already – Oh." Hermione looked up when she heard Slughorn's voice cut off and found that the professor had just spotted her – alone. She did not allow her gaze to slide to Draco, afraid he was already looking at her. "It seems that Miss Granger does not have a partner. You may team up with her. I'm sure between the two of you, you will come up with a competent potion." The professor smiled kindly and turned, dismissing Draco. Hermione was struggling to breathe as she heard Draco approaching her table. When he finally reached it, he sneered.

"Do you mind?" he asked, his voice icy.

"Excuse me?" Hermione's voice was just as cold as she looked up him. She could have sworn she saw something flicker in his eyes. But then he cut his gaze to her belonging which were taking up what was now his side of the table.

She felt herself grow hot and she quickly moved her things to the floor next to her, between his chair and hers pretending it was a barrier. He smirked at her and sat down gracefully and promptly gathered some of the ingredients to his side of the table. Somehow he already knew what ingredient to add next and he had not even taken out his textbook. Hermione suspiciously wondered how he knew what to do. She watched him from the corner of her eye as she started to mash the berries that would go in next. He was simply and openly staring at her.

Finally she sighed, frustrated and hissed, "What?" He smirked at her again.

"What's wrong, Mudblood? It's okay for you to stare, but not anyone else?"

She gasped and felt her cheeks flush with blood. He had called her out on it. In public! She cast a quick glance at Ron and Harry making sure that they had not heard. They were busy staring at that damned book Harry had got, and were obviously paying no attention to anything else. When she turned back to Malfoy, he was smiling with a glint in his eye. "I've no idea what you're talking about, Malfoy." She decided denial was her best option. He simply shook his head, amusement pouring from him.

"You know damned well what I'm talking about, Granger. I've seen you. You've been watching since we came back to school. Studying me. One would think… that you were a woman obsessed." Her eyes widened, her heart beat erratically, and she felt as though she were going to pass out. There was absolutely no way he knew! He watched her reaction carefully. When she didn't speak, he continued, his voice taking on an interested tone. "Merlin, Granger! You've been following me, hounding me. Staring with a wistful little gleam in your eye. And I've noticed every…little….reaction you've had to every little thing I've done." His voice had dropped to a husky whisper now.

He reached towards her and in a fit of panic she flinched back. He snickered and reached past her, grabbing the berries, the last ingredient, and put them in. He then started the cycle of stirring the potion clockwise thirty times. She had completely forgotten the potion. She had forgotten that she was in class. She had even forgotten about Harry and Ron sitting two feet in front of them. The only thing that existed right now was her and Draco.

"I mean," he continued calmly, "I can hardly blame you, Granger. I suppose I am something to look at. And I've been extremely patient with you." Now he was looking at her as he stirred.

 _Patient, my butt_ , she thought, remembering last night in the library. Her chin suddenly burned where he had touched her. He tisked. "Last night was a bad night for me, Granger." Her eyes widened once more. Was he reading her mind? She felt terror seize through her. Was he using Legilimency on her? Was he even capable of that? "You wear your every thought on you face," he scoffed. He was finally done stirring and now they simply had to wait a minute for the ingredients to simmer together.

"The thing is, Granger, I don't care." She felt her breath get stolen from her. His mirth shined brightly in his eyes and he shrugged. "You see, I don't give a fuck that you're watching me. I don't even care why. I don't even give a fuck if you're obsessed with me. And I know you are." When she finally found her voice to try to deny it again, he simply held a hand up and chuckled. "Really, don't bother. Do not insult me with lies. The reason that I don't care is – "

"Alright, students, let's see how you've down," professor Slughorn cut in. Hermione threw a deep harsh glare his way, furious that he had interrupted what Draco was about to say.

Draco, for his part, was pissed at the professor as well. But when he caught the fury in Granger's eyes, his anger instantly melted. He laughed internally at how truly easy she was making all of this. She had let him go on and on for the last 20 minutes. But then, what was her alternative. He knew lying did not come easily to the Gryffindor. Although, he noted ecstatically, that she has obviously been lying to her two "best friends." He had noticed her reaction when she feared that the boys would hear him.

He wondered what she'd been telling them. That she'd been studying? That she didn't feel well? He knew she was spending a majority of her time outside of the classroom watching him. They had to notice her prolonged absences. Did they believe her little lies? Did they truly believe that their sweet, innocent Hermione Granger was telling the truth about how she spent her evenings?

Inside, he was doing a victory dance. This was simply too perfect. She was already lying to her friends. She was already isolating herself, more and more. And he had also noticed the hungry look in her eyes when she stared at him. He had told her the truth that she wore her every thought on her face. He had never really noticed before, but now that he was really looking at her, he wondered how he could have possibly missed it. The look of terror on her face when he called her out, the look of fear when he stretched his hand towards her, terror again that he might be able to read her thoughts, fury with the professor who was now looking at their potion and the desire mixed with every single one of those emotions. Of course he knew the spell to break into her mind, but why expend the energy? It was there, pasted onto her face for the world to see, and more importantly, him.

"Well, we have our winner. Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger, you may expect your invites to my next little gathering by owl over the next couple of days. Congratulations." Draco rolled his eyes. That fool really believed that that was a prize.

He returned his attention to the brunette once more before Slughorn dismissed the class. He placed his hand strategically on her knee. "The reason, Hermione, that I don't care is because I've recently become obsessed with you as well," he muttered in his huskiest voice. With that, he quickly grabbed his things and swept from the room, smirking as he left Hermione with a confounded expression on her face.

Author's Note: Once again, I am so sorry that it took so long to update. I hope that you like it and that it was worth the wait. It was a little rushed, so if anyone sees a problem with it, please feel free to let me know. Please review and let me know how I'm doing, it really motivates me. Thank you!


End file.
